Clare Murphy and Simon Brentford where the two fastest in a field of 15 competitors (two females) at Mark Callands British SA-"Speed Awareness" weekend at Hibaldstow May 1-3.

Murphys result was 223 mph (358 kph) while Brentford did 258 mph (415 kph).

Andy Pike finished third with 214 mph (344 kph) leaving Dave Ferguson in third with the same speed. The SA-competition was over three rounds and Pike and Ferguson where separated in the last jump by a fraction.

Murphy will compete at the Lille World Cup in France later this month, and if so, she might challenge Jude Haig's British record at 371.18 kph (230.70 mph) from the "Spanish World Cup" in Nov, 2000.

Haig's record at the same meet was first established at 362.87 kph (that was the first meet where two Pro-Tracks mounted on each side of the rig was used to measure the speed. This change was done to get more accurate readings. Up to this point only one Pro-Track mounted on an ancle had been used, and all records from before that meet was deleted as it was discovered that erroneous readings could be deliberately produced by the jumper).

However, the UK record is a tall order for the male british challengers aswell with Mark Calland holding the UK record at 468.03 kph since July 2003 over Hibaldstow, UK. He has signed up for the World Cup 2004 season opener in Lille, France.

So far, competitors from France, UK, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, Poland, Norway and Sweden has signed up. Stay updated on who's coming to the French Meet.
[Published May 04, 2004]